Love: Short Story and Nadine Gordimer

The Price of Love
“Country lovers” and “The Necklace” are two very different short stories but share many similarities. They share a common theme of love, weather marriage or just a common relationship. “Country Lover” and “The Necklace” revolve around the issues of a poor family and a rich family. With these two very different lifestyles one another very rarely interacted in the earlier years in which the two stories take place. “Country lover” was written in the period of apartheid in a village in South Africa while “The Necklace” was set to be around the early 1900’s. Love is a powerful thing and will make you do crazy events for the one you love.
“Country lover” is based on two young kids who grow up in completely different worlds. Paulus Eysendyck a son of white farmer and Thebedi a young South African woman who works around the Eysendyck’s farmhouse on occasion. The two very opposite children grew a liking to one another, which built up a strong relationship. Ever since the kids had been old enough to play in the kraal a village of the native peoples of South Africa, usually surrounded by a stockade or the like and often having a central space for livestock (kraal) there friendship has grown. While away at boarding school Paulus made a little painted box in wood working class, probably for jewelry. While Thebedi made a hand crafted bracelet which she gave to him before he went back to school. The secret exchange in gifts lead to believe that there friendship was becoming more than a friendship.
With their friendship turning into love their time together was becoming more and more special. Every moment when Paulus was home from school was spent together, down by the riverbed, at the farmhouse when no one was around and some nights. The gifts became more elaborate, when he was as far from his childhood as all this, he still brought home from a shop in town a red plastic belt and gilt hoop ear–rings for the black girl, Thebedi (Clugston, 2010). When the farmer's son was home for the holidays she wandered far from the kraal and her companions. He went for walks alone. They had not arranged this; it was an urge each followed independently (Clugston, 2010). He did with her what he had done that time in the storeroom at the wedding, and this time it was so lovely, so lovely, he was surprised . . . and she was surprised by it, too. The imagery Nadine Gordimer uses only lets our minds tells us it was true love for the two of them (Clugston, 2010, Para. 5).
Due to apartheid Paulus and Thebedi couldn’t be more than just summer lovers, so when the time was right Thebedi married a young native by the name of Njabulo. Njabulo had been a laborer on the Eysendyck’s farm. The two of them had been married for two months before giving birth. She gave birth to a daughter. There was no disgrace in that among her people it is customary for a young man to make sure, before marriage that the chosen girl is not barren, and Njabulo made love to her then (Clugston, 2010, Para. 9). Paulus visited the small hut twice, the first to see the baby, and the second, the second one comes as a surprise he visits the ill child alone. The young baby mysteriously passes away. Was it Paulus or did the baby have an illness, the trial decides not guilty but one can only imagine the death of the black baby came from the hands of the white male Paulus. Interviewed by the Sunday papers, who spelled her name in a variety of ways, the black girl, speaking in her own language, was quoted beneath her photograph: "It was a thing of our childhood; we don't see each other anymore." This death killed not only a baby but a friendship that turn into summer love.
The Necklace is a story that most people can relate too. This story was written around the early 1900’s about a young couple struggling to survive when they get invited to spend the evening at a fancy ball. With nothing to wear and very little money to buy a new dress the young Mrs. Loisel, with tears denies the invite.
With a few convincing words and the four hundred dollars they had saved up Mr. Loisel convinced his wife that it was a honor to be invited and insisted she bought herself a fancy new dress to wear to the ball. As the night of the ball neared once again Mrs. Loisel saddened. Mrs. Loisel had no jewels to go with her fancy new dress and no more money for some new ones. "What a goose you are! Go find your friend, Mrs. Forester, and ask her to lend you some jewelry. You know her well enough to do that (Clugston, 2010, Para. 39)."
Mrs. Forester was a rich friend, a comrade of her convent days, whom she did not want to go and see any more, so much did she suffer as she came away. And she wept all day long, from chagrin, from regret, from despair, and from distress. She visited her and found the most beautiful necklace, a necklace made of the most stunning diamonds. A necklace of this class must have cost nearly 36,000 Francs. With this necklace her outfit was complete and she was the most elegant gal of the ball.
After a wonderful night at the ball Mr. and Mrs. Loisel took a cab home, and it was then when she had noticed the necklace was gone. The two of them looked everywhere for them. He traced their every step and came up with nothing it was gone. She couldn’t tell her friend that she had lost it, and made up a white lie, it was in the jewelers getting fixed. With that she bought enough time to purchase a new one, one that looked identical to the old. 36,000 Francs, 36,000 francs it cost for the new one. Mrs. Loisel returned the necklace thanked her and went on her way.
After ten years of hard work and slaving around the house, and a second job by Mr. Loisel they had paid back all of their debt. Mrs. Loisel must have aged fifteen years or better in that time. She was rough to the point no one could recognize her. Then one morning she ran into Mrs. Forester, and she told her the truth about her necklace. To her surprise the diamonds were fake and only cost 500 Francs at most.
These two stories The Necklace and Country Lover talk about the lifestyles that rich and poor families have and how a love was lost with in the poor family. Country Lover lost a lifelong friend and The Necklace lost a very precious and expensive necklace.
Both Authors Nadine Gordimer and Guy de Maupassant, like their stories have some differences. Nadine Gordimer had her first short story published when she was only 15, and her first collection in 1949. Nadine Gordimer, whose novels of South Africa portray the conflicts and contradictions of a racist society, was named winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature today as her country finally begins to dismantle the system her works have poignantly explored for more than 40 years (Yee). While Guy de Maupassant was nearly thirty before his first story got published. With six novels and nearly 300 short stories it is hard to believe that like Nadine Gordimer he was not won a noble prize.

Reference
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Guy de Maupassant. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 06:35, Mar 04, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/guy-de-maupassant-37772.

kraal. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved March 03, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kraal

WHITNEY, , CRAIG R. (1991, Oct 04). Nadine gordimer is winner of nobel prize in literature. New York Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/428255331?accountid=32521

SHAW, S. (2001, Aug 12). [ BOOK REVIEWS: Bel-ami, by guy de maupassant oxford classics OUP 7.99 ***** ... ]. Mail on Sunday. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/328788057?accountid=32521

Yee, Marilynn K (1991, Oct.)The New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage. html?res=9E0CE1D81031F937A35753C1A967958260&pagewanted=2